GLAAD Media Awards Adds a Video Game Category

If you’ve never heard of GLAAD Media Awards, it’s probably because you’re a straight white male. But everyone else will know them as an award ceremony celebrating media for "their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community, and the issues that affect their lives."

They’ve been chugging along for 29 years, but for their 30th anniversary, they’re gifting themselves a new category: the Outstanding Video Game Award.

"The [Outstanding Video Game] Award is given for an interactive experience that includes authentic and impactful LGBTQ characters or storylines. Judging will take into consideration the degree to which the LGBTQ-inclusive content is effectively woven into gameplay, including player agency and the world itself."

To be eligible to earn this prestigious prize, the game in question needs to come out in 2018, or have significant new content added in 2018 that would be relevant to the GLAAD rewards. And to prevent any studios from pulling a Dumbledore, the gayness has to be overtly stated in-game or in canon, alternative media, which means a single “Kratos is actually gay” text from David Jaffe wouldn’t be enough to put God of War in the running.

As of right now, there’s no list of qualifying games, but if I could throw in my two cents: they really should have released this in time for Saints Row 4. I mean, in that game, you could dress however you want, change your sex at the flip of a switch, and romance whoever you wanted no matter what you identified as. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more inclusive, accepting game in the whole damn industry, and even if it is five years old it deserves some kind of recognition.

It’s times like these I really do miss Volition. Rest in peace, old friends.